Diaspora youths in sport get opportunity to compete for Africa

A programme is being launched in London on August 17, which is to kickstart the operations of Africa Sport in Diaspora. The event, which will be at the Greenwich Community College, Plumstead, London, will be attended by representatives of the African community in the UK, as well as representatives of governments of many African nations, who want to tap into the benefits of the project.

Africa Sport In Diaspora has been created to unearth the many sports talent who abound in our nations, but who are of African origin.

The founder and creator of the programme - Tunde Adelakun, has worked in various capacities across African sport, for many years. “After the Olympic Games in London last year, some of us sat down and took stock, and we realised that Africa could have done better, much better, if the countries tapped into the resources available to them globally”, Adelakun said.

“While it is a fair point that African nations must look at developing sports in the grassroots back home, we should not lose sight of the fact that there are kids who might have been discovered in the grassroots, but who had to live out here with their parents, and we want to give them the option to participate for their countries of origin, if they meet up with such country’s standards”.

ASID is a charitable organisation that will be prepared to represent each country’s interests in identifying and recommending athletes of school age, who can be of benefit to their sporting fortunes.

The event will be a launch of ASID and a workshop/discussion forum amongst nations’ representatives and the community of Africans in the UK.

“It is worthy of note that a good number of the Team GB medallists in London 2012 were actually of African origin. Prominent amongst them are Christine Ohuorogu (Nigeria) and Mo Farah (Somalia)”, Adelakun recalled “and there are many more talented youngsters – some of whom did not make the Team GB grade, not because they were not good enough, but because of the opportunities they lacked, and ASID would like to give them the option to consider competing for their African roots”.

With the Commonwealth Games coming up in precisely a year from now in Scotland, it will be the dream of ASID to be able to produce a handful of athletes to Glasgow, who hitherto would not have been identified, to compete for African nations.

Further information on the event and programmes of ASID can be sought by emailing africasportdiaspora@mail.com